Raveled

I think this is a best-case scenario of Trump.

So just to be clear -- Chrome isn't trying to be down on Gabriel or questioning his actions. He just feels that he's had his nose rubbed in the whole "you're made of evil alien nanotech" sitch and needs to talk it out without talking it out.

Chrome squeaked out a tiny "Oh." He could interface with the World Wide Web and check Gabriel's words instantly, and in a dozen translations, but their impact on the teen didn't change. He swallowed and asked, "But how do you know you did the right thing? When the, uh, the seals are broken and the Horsemen ride out it's supposed to be the apocalypse -- big T, big A, end of times deal. I mean I'm glad you stopped them!" he said quickly, trying to make it clear that he wasn't trying to argue with the senior hero. "Because you stopped them I can go to prom and buy a car and, and, and go to weird facist worlds and probably punch dragons before today's over. But... how do you know you were right to stop The big-T big-A Apocalypse?"

Chrome sat in the bucket seat in the transport, the big meal sitting heavily in his gut. Or maybe it was just the reminder of what the Communion had done in this universe that was weighing him down. Either way, he found himself watching the man in gold and white. Gabriel had become the closest thing to a leader the disparate group had. There was just something magnetic how him, how even sitting them he commanded attention. And his words in the meeting room were still going around inside Chrome's head. He stood and shuffled over until he could tap the older man on the knee. "Hey. Um. Back there you said you were, um, riding a horse earlier? And the Empress looked pretty worried about that. What kind of horse were you talking about?"

Miracle Girl's incredible eyesight allowed her to follow the path through the carpet, picking out every super-sharp incision and fallen curl of fabric. The trail lead her out of the office and down the hallway. It lead to a narrow and unadorned door; inside was a plain washroom. Inside the claw-footed bathtub there was a slow drip drip drip of an unsecured faucet. Casey tracked the scratches into the bathtub, where a three-inch high therapod apparently made entirely of purple crystal was waiting for the drops. As she watched another drop of water fell and the miniature dinosaur slashed it out of the air, turning it into a spray.

Chrome's mouth was hanging open at the end of Gabriel's speech. Even though it was physically impossible he felt like he had goosebumps; it felt like that speech should have ended with a thrown fist, not a polite request. The teen finally closed his mouth with a click and pushed himself back from the table. "I guess if we're going into a fight I should do some carbo-loading," he said. "The nanites can get hungry if I have to change around a lot." He wandered over to the side-board and began building himself a Dagwood.

Planning my next Bedlam PC and, well, take a look. Give me opinions. Tear it apart. Veritas Power Level: 8/12 (180/180PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: An angelic investigator trying to save a forsaken city. Alternate Identity: May McKenzie Birthplace: Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States Residence: Church of Saints Redemption, Hardwick Park, Bedlam City Occupation: Unemployed Affiliations: Father Anton Kowak Family: Steve McKenzie (father), Mary Pelle-McKenzie (mother), Anthony McKenzie (brother), Caroline McKenzie (sister) Description: Age: 59 (June 1957) Apparent Age: Thirties Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5' 8" Weight: Slim Eyes: Grey Hair: Black-blue May doesn't tend to draw stares on the street. She's a slim woman of average height, with fine-boned features and dark, dark hair. She likes to keep her hair long and swept or pinned back from her grey eyes. While she could be awkward and ungainly in life, ever since her resurrection she has been graceful and controlled. While her powers grant her the ability to construct her own clothes they are all in shades of white, grey, and silver; when "on the job" she prefers to wear a white suit with a grey vest, grey tie with silver clip, and sometimes a white greatcoat. History: May McKenzie always had to know. She was the first child in her grade to learn the truth about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, not that it made her any happier or more popular when she blurted it out in the middle of class. At the same time nothing made her angrier than when rules were applied unequally and she made it her job to pick fights with the bullies. It wasn't a surprise when she studied law in college and eventually joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This was in the Eighties, and May ended up going into crime scene investigation. While some derided her as a bookeeper rather than a true detective, she persisted. Her meticulous nature and desire to fill out every fact aided in more than one investigation. At one point she realized that some investigations centering on the Midwest weren't adding up. She looked into the situation and realized that the FBI office in Wisconsin was cutting deals with the Mafia -- it started as letting Mob guys go in exchange for information and grew into genuine graft and complicity. May couldn't ferret out if Special Agent Enzio Falcone (whose name appeared on so many Bedlam files) was corrupt. She started working outside the normal Bureau agencies, even so far as to meet an apparent informant in Bedlam itself. That was her mistake; the informant was one of the corrupt agents and she found herself directly in their crossfire. She didn't survive, and the agents staged things so it looked like she drove her car off the road and into Lake Michigan. The autopsy was done in Bedlam and money exchanged hands to make sure the evidence of gunshots was written up as scavenger bites. The death went down as misadventure, she received a burial with bagpipes, and everyone moved on. Including May. She's not exactly sure what she experienced -- being somewhere safe, and warm, and happy. That's where she met Lailah, where she was empowered, where she was trained. She came back strong in ways that she couldn't dream of before, and with a purpose. Now she knows that evil is in Bedlam, and she knows that she has the power to stop it. Personality & Motivation: Curiosity is May's overriding emotion. She's deep by a deep and abiding drive to know, to learn, to understand the underlying reality of everything she sees and experiences. It's never enough for May to just experience a thing, she has to learn why this and why not that. If curiosity is May's great vice, then her virtue is compassion. Her parents were scientists and educators and they taught their children that there is a fundamental order to the world, that it was possible for all people to live together and do good. That informed May's view of justice and law and her decision to go into the FBI, and it pushes her forward today. Lailah, by contrast, is a being of compassion. She is foremost concerned with giving aid and support with the downtrodden and the needy. She was created as an angel of the night and darkness, and understands that it's not a good idea for everything to be in the light. Powers & Tactics: Veritas doesn't like fighting. She prefers to investigate and uncover facts peacefully, and when forced into a conflict she will usually fight only as long as it takes her to retreat. If she doesn't have to worry about allies or civilians, she'll start by dropping a pool of darkness in the middle of the battlefield and use her darkness-piercing vision to pick off targets from within it. Power Descriptions: May McKenzie has been merged with Lailah, a literal angel of darkness, a divine entity embodying darkness and the night. When May summons her powers it manifests as clouds of fog or dark ink. She can form that into different tools, like a pair of shadowy pistols or long tendrils of shadowstuff hanging off her arms. Legally Dead May McKenzie died. There was a funeral and everything. That means Veritas cannot appear on any official database without the FBI wondering who is using their dead agent's name. True to My Name (Veritas) Veritas means truth and May is bound to be truthful. She cannot tell a lie or break her promise, though she can mislead by omission. Curiosity Killed the Me May's driving need to know all the details already destroyed her once, but it's fair to say that she didn't learn. She will take extreme chances to learn the particulars of a case. Aegis of God May is an angel and angels protect. She cannot turn away from a mortal in need or leave an innocent in danger. In Bedlam, that eats up a lot of her time. Out of Time May was raised in the 1970s and died in the 1980s. She's had some time to adjust to life in the 21st Century, but things can still catch her off-guard Abilities: 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 0 + 6 = 18 PP Strength 14/18 (+2/+4) Dexterity 12 (+1) Constitution 12/36 (+1/+8) Intelligence 14 (+2) Wisdom 10 (+0) Charisma 16 (+3) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16 PP Attack: +4 (+6 Firearms, +8 Sacred Darkness) Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus, +3 Flat-Footed) Initiative: +1 Grapple: +8/+6 Knockback: -8/-4/+0 Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 8 = 12 PP Toughness: +8/+1 (+8/+1 CON, 8 Impervious) Fortitude: +8/+1 (+8 CON) Reflex: +5 (+1 DEX, +4) Will: +8 (+0 WIS, +8) Skills: 108r = 27 PP Computers 8 (+10) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Gather Information 12 (+15) Intimidate 10 (+13) Investigate 13 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Civics) 13 (+15)Skill Mastery Knowledge (History) 8 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Life Sciences) 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Streetwise) 8 (+10) Language 3 (English [base], Russian, Italian, Spanish) Notice 10 (+10) Feats: 12 PP Attack Specialization (Firearms) Challenge (Fast Demoralize, Fast Startle) 2 Dodge Focus 4 Interpose Precise Shot Skill Mastery (Investigate, Knowledge [Civics], Knowledge [Life Sciences], Knowledge [Physical Sciences]) Startle Uncanny Dodge (audio) Powers: 12 + 27 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 13 + 1 + 1 + 21 = 95 PP All powers have Divine and Shadow descriptors Divine Intervention (8 PP, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [12 PP] BE: Impervious Toughness 8 [8 PP] (Angelic Reliance) AP: Applies Autofire 1 [8] to Divine Firepower [8 PP] (Second Gun) AP: Enhanced Feat 8 (Fearsome Presence 8) [8 PP] (Be Not Radiance) AP: Flight 4 (100 MPH) [10 PP] (Wings) AP: Healing 4 [10 PP] (Grace) Enhanced Constitution 14 [14PP] + Enhanced Strength 4 [4 PP] + Immunity 14 (Aging, disease, life support, need for sleep, poison, starvation & thirst) [27 PP] (Angelic Body) Enhanced Feat 2 (Quick Change 2) [2 PP] (Heaven's Tailors) Enhanced Skills 6 (Knowledge [Arcane Lore] 3, Knowledge [Theology & Philosophy] 3, Language 1 [Enochian], Sense Motive 8, Stealth 8) [6 PP] (Lailah's Expertise) Obscure 5 (250ft, Visual, Flaw: Limited [Normal Vision Only]) [5 PP] Sacred Darkness (18 PP, Feats: Accurate, Alternate Power 2) [21 PP] BE: Blast 8 (Feats: Improved Critical 2) [18/18 PP] (Divine Firepower) AP: Strike 4 (Extra: Autofire [8], Feats: Extended 1 [10ft], Improved Critical 2, Mighty, Affects Insubstantial 2) [18/18 PP] (Shadow Whip) AP: Snare 8 (Extras: Transparent, Feats: Obscure Senses [Visual], Reversible) [18/18 PP] (Shadow Trap) Super-Senses 2 (Olfactory +Acute, +Analytical) [2PP] (Chemical Nose) Super-Senses 13 (Normal Visual, +Counters Concealment, +Counters Illusion, +Counters Obscure [All], Microscopic Vision [3], Ultravision) [13 PP] (Angelic Sight) Super-Senses 1 (Ultra-Hearing) [1 PP] (Angelic Hearing) Resurrection 1 (1/week) [1 PP] (Job's Not Done) Abilities (18) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (27) + Feats (12) + Powers (95) - Disadvantages (0) = 180/180 PP

Results 10#1d20: 10 # 20 [1d20=20] 14 [1d20=14] 14 [1d20=14] 8 [1d20=8] 17 [1d20=17] 7 [1d20=7] 20 [1d20=20] 15 [1d20=15] 18 [1d20=18] 6 [1d20=6]

Going off the notes, those crystals are weird. The sketches show that their structure is very close to that of a diamond, suggesting that these gems formed under intense heat and pressure. What's more, the latticework goes in regular, consistent patterns, but there's also notes about how it bends at odd places and then continues in straight lines again. It doesn't make any sense to Miracle Girl, but to Terrifica it almost sounds like something somehow put a crease in the atomic structure of these crystals. Terrifica also notes that the dimensions for the different crystals are also consistent to within a single millimeter, but the surfaces are abraded like they've been weathered or even picked out of the ground in that shape. With those Search scores, both heroes find numerous tiny pin-prick holes in the green leather covering the working area of the desk, which move to the edge and then transition into tiny, thin scratches all along the side of the desk. With her Microscopic Vision, Miracle Girl can pick out individual threads of the carpet that have been sliced apart, almost like something with razor-sharp feet walked through the carpet and out of the room.

Jay retrieved her knife, rocking it unnecessarily next to Gary's head. His eyes were shut and his lips were moving in a soundless prayer, but she wanted to make sure that he would stay quiet. Turning back, she began cleaning it thoroughly while she watched Henry. "I'm looking for some people who disappeared, Henry. They were up on this mountain, and they were supposed to call in, and then they were gone." She began to walk towards the bound man, her movements lissome and rolling and seductive in any other situation, but not when she had a knife in her hand and he was tied up to a tree. "These people had some friends and the friends talked to me and I came up here and found you two." She crouched down in front of Henry and put the tip of the knife under his chin, forcing him to look up and meet her eyes. "What I want to know from you, Henry, is: did you kill them, and where did you put the bodies?" Henry was more terrified of this woman than anything else he had experienced in his life. His breath came in short gasps, the point of the knife on his chin felt like it was about to slice his face off, and he was suddenly sure that the dampness in his pants wasn't just from loam. "I, I, I never killed nobody! I don't know what you're talking about, me and Gary don't kill people! We just, you know, we cook up meth and sell it to folks in the city. We're not violent!" Jay sighed and Henry felt the point of the knife moving, forcing him to bend his face in different directions while she watched him. The mask painted her as being indifferent and alien; the knife painted her as being sadistic and dangerous. "I didn't kill anybody, but... Maybe it was the monster? The Monster of Arcadia Mountain?" "You expect me to believe that the Bogeyman showed up and snatched these people?" She shook her head with a tut tut tut. "You're going to have to do better than kiddie stories, Henry." Henry felt the knife pressing up against his chin and he was forced to hold himself up off the ground, lest it draw blood. "It's the truth! Couple of weeks ago, me and Gary were up here cooking and there was this, this huge noise up the hill. Like a big fight or, or something, with people screaming and even some gunshots. We turned off the lights and kept the doors closed and after awhile it all went away, but that had to have been when your folks got got!" The pressure against his chin was suddenly gone and Jay stood up, twirling the knife in her hands. "Thank you for your help, Henry. See how nice things can be when we all help each other?" She bent down and saw briefly at the restraints on his ankles before doing the same to his wrists, then quickly released Gary from his bonds. "If you both follow the riverbed," she said, pointing out a dry riverbed that sloped away from the little space, "you'll come to a road. Stay on it as it goes downhill, you'll run into a ranger station or a cop car or town before long." The knife disappeared somewhere under her jacket and Jay began walking into the wood, slowly disappearing behind the foliage. Gary and Henry stood together, rubbing at their wrists and toying with the snipped ends of the plastic restraints. Gary leaned in close to whisper, "We gotta go back to the shack, man. Get our stuff." Jay, some distance away, stopped and shouted over her shoulder, "The shack blew up while you were out. I made sure the fire went out, so that's not your problem. The cops are probably coming up to check it out, though!" As the pair moaned and bewailed their situation she stepped into the forest and disappeared.

Tona was already tumbling when she hit the ground, absorbing the impact and coming to rest in a crouch. At some point she'd lost her suit jacket and the clip-one bow tie, and her starched shirt was coming loose and stained by the grass and dirt; but when Asad asked if she was ready she just nodded once, quick. He picked her up like she weighed nothing and then she was flying through the air again, straight back at Air Martial. The young woman wasn't exactly used to be thrown through the air like a volleyball but so much of her life hadn't gone like she had intended so she coped. When she got close enough she grabbed onto the flying villain, screaming in pain as she felt all the force and torque of her flight suddenly applied to her shoulder and screaming in triumph as she reached into a gap in his armor and pulled out a handful of wires. The jets on the armor suddenly went out and in a moment they were both falling, both landing on the ground and tumbling hard.

Because I work, here are all of my rolls. Results 10#1d20: 10 # 8 [1d20=8] 3 [1d20=3] 1 [1d20=1] 6 [1d20=6] 18 [1d20=18] 2 [1d20=2] 13 [1d20=13] 1 [1d20=1] 18 [1d20=18] 6 [1d20=6] Jay's initiative bonus is +15, so her Ini score is 23. Results 10#1d20: 10 # 8 [1d20=8] 3 [1d20=3] 1 [1d20=1] 6 [1d20=6] 18 [1d20=18] 2 [1d20=2] 13 [1d20=13] 1 [1d20=1] 18 [1d20=18] 6 [1d20=6]

Chrome Hardware Hoodlum Heist Empire of Emerald and Jade GM Crystal History

To make sense of the notes is going to require a Knowledge (Earth Sciences) roll. Anything else in the room is probably going to require a Search check.

The study at the end of the hall had all the signs of being an active crime scene. Quite apart from the police tape across the doorway there were little numbered cards next to various points of interest in the room: a heavy desk with individually numbered notes and a heavy magnifying glass on the chair; an open cask of some dark wood, lined with velvet, open on the desk; spots of what could only be dried blood on the carpet; a set of broken reading glasses on the floor. The notes were in a thin, spidery hand and seemed to talk about a set of four crystals that weren't anywhere in the study or any of the other rooms Terrifica and Miracle Girl had examined. Going by the measurements in the notes each one was about as wide as a thumb, tapered at either end, and thicker at one end than the other rather like an egg. If those notes were accurate, the crystals would have exactly fit the impressions in the velvet of the wooden cask.

Happy birthday, Ari!

No, just describe it.

Kamala from New Jersey, ehn? Why doesn't she have anything to do with the Rhodes Foundation?

Every room seems to have a different theme, but each one is a collection of priceless natural and cultural artifacts. One has displays of different swords from all over the world, another has various geological samples; raw diamonds embedded in the rock matrix, a geode bigger than your fist, and a sample of fulgurite taller than you are.

If you pay for it, there's benefits.

WITNESSED by GIZMO Chrome Adding a form of X-Ray to his Super-Senses [2PP] Adding 2PP to his Cybernetic Enhancements array [2PP]

As soon as the Empress mentioned the Lor and the Communion, Chrome felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He sank into the chair, suddenly not caring how it felt against his bare 'skin.' Warren didn't usually feel guilty about the source of his powers but being confronted with the reality of them, at least in this reality, felt like a kick in the nads. He felt like shrinking in the seat, like disappearing, like turning into a slimy thing and crawling into some dark place where no one could find him. Except he couldn't. As bad as Warren felt right now, there was a real problem to deal with. He pulled himself out of the depth of his funk, only to realize someone else had just stepped in. Someone who looked a whole lot like their hostess. He looked back and forth between the two of them, confused.

The windows on the highest story of Arthur Campbell's house weren't really designed to be opened, but the heroes managed it without tripping any alarms or alerting the patrolling officers. Inside the rooms were lit by moonlight, but even in the darkness it was obvious the house was crowded with cultural artifacts. Just in this one hallway was a full suit of Spanish armor from the 16th or 17th Century, complete with saber and musket; a model of a three-masted galleon rigged for full sail; and hanging above that was a hand-inked map showing the complete extent of Spain's colonial conquests. Opposite that was a set of samurai armor with an arquebus. Flanking it was what looked like hand-penned scrolls; Terrifica recognized it as a family tree in old Chinese and name "Tokugawa." If all these pieces were genuine, then the contents of this hallway alone would keep any archeologist or curator happy for a year. Once the Campbell estate was broken up and auctioned off, it seemed likely that there was going to be a genteel, well-heeled feeding frenzy. Most of the doors on the upper level were closed. The only open room seemed to be one at the opposite end, which was covered in more police tape.

Chrome and Hammer dodged shots as Warp stepped through her own portal, appearing next to the woman and the younger man. Before either of them could say something, they were suddenly on the roof of the bank. In another eyeblink Warp was back inside, getting ready to grab the last two hostages. "Somebody get out here and grab these yutzes," the shorter robot shouted, blasting away with an apparently endless stream of bullets. As Warp gathered her power to make the last jump away, another robot charged in from deeper in the building. This one was the tallest of all, well over six feet and broad. His face had a prominent steel brow and he was even dressed in slack and bracers, the very picture of a gangland bruiser. He let out a roar and grabbed Warp, and suddenly the six of them were on top of the bank -- Warp, four hostages, and the metal gorilla. Chrome took a moment from sheltering behind the wooden desk to glance out. "Hammer, it looks like we got all the hostages! I think we can get out of here." Suddenly the lady robot vaulted the cover and stood in front of him. In one hand she was holding a black valise, and in the other was a lit stick of dynamite. Chrome took in the explosive and her manic expression in a single glance. "Oh yeah. Time for us to GTFO."

Do you guys want to do anything else or should we cut to inside the house?